DeathoftheEndless
Crashing this plane... with no survivors!
Costume Quest is fun, if easy.
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Help: Short but good/great jRPG?
- Thread starter Hayama Akito
- Start date
sixteen-bit
Member
sounds like bioshock
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Judging from main story times on http://howlongtobeat.com, most of the games being mentioned here (like Chrono Trigger & Suikoden 1) are over 20 hours on a first-time playthrough, even if just barely. Obviously, they're likely to go faster if you've already played them before.
Average time in hours for shortest playthrough style:
Crimson Shroud - 7
Arc the Lad 1 - 10.5 (the sequel is LONG)
Final Fantasy Legend - 12
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - 14
Panzer Dragoon Saga - 14
Super Mario RPG - 16
Final Fantasy Legend 2 & 3 - 16
In addition to Crimson Shroud, the vast majority of digital-only JRPGs (like indies) tend to be on the short side.
Of those listed, Panzer Dragoon Saga is probably the best, but it's super expensive. Super Mario RPG is a fun beginner RPG. And I remember liking FF Legend 2 & 3 when they were new but I'm not sure how well they've aged (they're gameboy games).
Although it's long to do everything, playing a single character's scenario on Saga Frontier is a fairly bite-sized experience, depending on the character.
Yeah, BoF
Q is brilliant, but it's likely to take you around 20 hours to beat the first time. Definitely shorter on replays though.
Average time in hours for shortest playthrough style:
Crimson Shroud - 7
Arc the Lad 1 - 10.5 (the sequel is LONG)
Final Fantasy Legend - 12
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - 14
Panzer Dragoon Saga - 14
Super Mario RPG - 16
Final Fantasy Legend 2 & 3 - 16
In addition to Crimson Shroud, the vast majority of digital-only JRPGs (like indies) tend to be on the short side.
Of those listed, Panzer Dragoon Saga is probably the best, but it's super expensive. Super Mario RPG is a fun beginner RPG. And I remember liking FF Legend 2 & 3 when they were new but I'm not sure how well they've aged (they're gameboy games).
Although it's long to do everything, playing a single character's scenario on Saga Frontier is a fairly bite-sized experience, depending on the character.
Yeah, BoF
Q is brilliant, but it's likely to take you around 20 hours to beat the first time. Definitely shorter on replays though.Felix Lighter
Member
Would Beyond Oasis be considered a JRPG? I remember that being quite short but I really enjoyed my time with it. However that was over 20 years ago.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Depends on who you ask, but in any case, it's not turn-based so it doesn't fit the criteria. It is short though (under 10 hours).
First post nails it.
openrob
Member
Just about half way through it (planning a LTP thread soon haha) but yeah, this game should scratch your itch.
EDIT: Ok - seems that you already pplayed that lol.
Well I will keep an eye on this becuase I want something lined up for when it is finished!
Felix Lighter
Member
You're absolutely right, shamefully, I barely skimmed the OP.
DannyDanger
Member
Suikoden IV is short
ThatStupidLion
Member
maybe shining force or albert odyssey?
Vire
Member
Ohhh! That's a good one.
krizalidzero
Member
I think Final Fantasy I and II are the perfect games if you want to play a short but great JRPG. Plus they are easy to follow up if you leave them on stand by for a while.
Hayama Akito
Member
Not now but thanks anyway.
Theanine3D
Member
Super Mario RPG. It's not very long, or difficult. You could beat it in like 2 days if you're taking breaks. Average playtime is 16 hours.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
This thread really highlights how there's a distinct lack of great under 10 hour JRPGs when even the "short" games are generally in the 15-25 hour range.
dragonzdogma
Member
Albert odyssey
Vire
Member
Part of the problem is that video game writers haven't mastered the brevity of wit. If you had Pixar quality writers who could make you get attached to a character in a matter of 15 minutes like UP did, then we would probably see more shorter and smaller scale JRPGs.
Ambience7817x
Member
TWEWY is fairly short by JRPG standards. Its amazing with one of the best OSTs in gaming
EDIT: Totally didn't see the Turn Based thing. In that case, another vote for Barkley.
EDIT: Totally didn't see the Turn Based thing. In that case, another vote for Barkley.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
How long will Cosmic Star Heroine be?
First post gets it
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
What I came to be post. The greatest of all time, and it's short and sweet.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Albert odyssey
If you're going to recommend a rare and morbidly expensive game, why not take one that's actually good, like Panzer Dragoon Saga
Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden and Undertale. Both do have some action elements - Barkley uses a Super Mario RPG type combat system, Undertale does something similar but with bullet hell inspired minigames, but they're both very short and sweet. (6-7 hours for Barkley, maybe 10-15 hours for Undertale depending on which paths you want ot play.)
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
You can sleepwalk through the game even on Hard, and the art/story is nothing really memorable, either. Huge pass.
Edit:
I can endorse Costume Quest for its charm even if it is also mindlessly easy like Child of Light.
You can sleepwalk through the game even on Hard, and the art/story is nothing really memorable, either. Huge pass.
Edit:
I can endorse Costume Quest for its charm even if it is also mindlessly easy like Child of Light.
Lunar SSSC - might be slightly over 20 hours but it's real short. Definitely like it more than the sequel because of the length
Suikoden 1 - 18 hours. Also like it more than the sequel because of the length. It feels like you're flying through it. Caves and dungeons usually take no more than 10 minutes
South Park, Parasite Eve, and Super Mario RPG - about 10 hours
Barkley shut up and gam Gaiden - about 4 hours and it's wonderful and free
Suikoden 1 - 18 hours. Also like it more than the sequel because of the length. It feels like you're flying through it. Caves and dungeons usually take no more than 10 minutes
South Park, Parasite Eve, and Super Mario RPG - about 10 hours
Barkley shut up and gam Gaiden - about 4 hours and it's wonderful and free
Adam Prime
hates soccer, is Mexican
Man such a great game.
The Last Story Wii, worth your time, fun combat system... Not turn based though.
Agreed, it's a really amazing game and I would have suggested the same, but OP specifically said a turn-based game.
And in that case, I also suggest Child of Light. It's short but sweet, with pretty good music, atmosphere and especially art. Though if you like your games difficult you might not like this one (or the Last Story, for that matter).
EDIT -> Ack, noticed you already played it. In that case, I can't really think of a good turn-based RPG that can be played in under 20 hours without rushing too much.
I don't think I spent more than 20 hours on any of these.
Terranigma - Super Nintendo
Haunting story. Almost everything about this game I love. It's one of the best I've ever played. I'd also recommend ActRaiser, Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.
Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny - PlayStation 2
It doesn't take long since since it's so straight forward (static screen world map style). Doesn't overstay its welcome and has a fast battle system with great music.
If you enjoy it I cannot recommend Mana Khemia enough, but that's a ~50 hour game. Oh and be warned that the final boss is a giant difficulty spike.
Phantasy Star IV - Mega Drive
~13 hours for me. It's one of my favorites and I was really impressed first time playing. Characters, story, music and difficulty are all surprisingly good.
Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story 2 - Gameboy Advance
It's been like 7 years since I played it, but I have so many fond memories. Old Tales-ish combat, item forging and catchy music. I'd also recommend the first game too. They're both around 10-15 hours.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Nintendo DS
~10 hours. Great game, mostly worth playing just for Bowser. Some of the minigames were a pain to get through but they're very short.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - Nintendo DS
This one's iffy. I took 19 hours but I can easily see this going much higher. It can be grindy. I had a lot of fun with it though, and the cast is my favorite in a Dragon Quest game.
Also honorable mentions to Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Wild ARMs, Sands of Destruction, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Lufia 2 and Shining in the Darkness. That's all I can remember right now that could be beaten within 20 hours, however some you'd have to rush hard.
Terranigma - Super Nintendo
Haunting story. Almost everything about this game I love. It's one of the best I've ever played. I'd also recommend ActRaiser, Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.
Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny - PlayStation 2
It doesn't take long since since it's so straight forward (static screen world map style). Doesn't overstay its welcome and has a fast battle system with great music.
If you enjoy it I cannot recommend Mana Khemia enough, but that's a ~50 hour game. Oh and be warned that the final boss is a giant difficulty spike.
Phantasy Star IV - Mega Drive
~13 hours for me. It's one of my favorites and I was really impressed first time playing. Characters, story, music and difficulty are all surprisingly good.
Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story 2 - Gameboy Advance
It's been like 7 years since I played it, but I have so many fond memories. Old Tales-ish combat, item forging and catchy music. I'd also recommend the first game too. They're both around 10-15 hours.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Nintendo DS
~10 hours. Great game, mostly worth playing just for Bowser. Some of the minigames were a pain to get through but they're very short.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - Nintendo DS
This one's iffy. I took 19 hours but I can easily see this going much higher. It can be grindy. I had a lot of fun with it though, and the cast is my favorite in a Dragon Quest game.
Also honorable mentions to Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Wild ARMs, Sands of Destruction, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Lufia 2 and Shining in the Darkness. That's all I can remember right now that could be beaten within 20 hours, however some you'd have to rush hard.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Terranigma - Super Nintendo
Haunting story. Almost everything about this game I love. It's one of the best I've ever played. I'd also recommend ActRaiser, Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.
Great game but that's an action RPG
Seven Force
Banned
Chrono Trigger and Parasite Eve immediately come to mind. Parasite Eve does let you move around in real time, but the actual combat is still Active Time Based, not unlike Chrono Trigger.
Barkley's another legitimately good one.
Barkley's another legitimately good one.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium sounds like it fits the bill perfectly. Turn-based, high quality, and pretty short, really well paced and doesn't overstay its welcome.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG both feel like they're longer than 20 hours.
I heard Child of Light is pretty short.
I heard Child of Light is pretty short.
I don't think a game exists that meets your criteria OP
Not one that is
Good or great: There are some modern Indie games that fit every criteria but this as they are mediocre at best.
<20 hours: Rules out the PS2 gen of JRPG's almost entirely cutting out some of the most obvious choices like Dragon Quest as well as many other games that would have worked if they were shorter.
Only a turn based JRPG: Rules out a lot of modern JRPG's as they have their own take on the classic battle system. Also rules out SRPG's and Action RPG's like Final Fantasy Tactics, The entire Tales of Series, and Stella Glow
Must be a "classic" style: Rules out 99.9% of modern JRPG's as once again the classic formula was considered a cliche at this point in time and everyone is doing their own twist on it whether that be incorporating modern Anime style into it or elements of other genres.
You haven't played it: Anything that could have possibly been left is phased out by this.
Not one that is
Good or great: There are some modern Indie games that fit every criteria but this as they are mediocre at best.
<20 hours: Rules out the PS2 gen of JRPG's almost entirely cutting out some of the most obvious choices like Dragon Quest as well as many other games that would have worked if they were shorter.
Only a turn based JRPG: Rules out a lot of modern JRPG's as they have their own take on the classic battle system. Also rules out SRPG's and Action RPG's like Final Fantasy Tactics, The entire Tales of Series, and Stella Glow
Must be a "classic" style: Rules out 99.9% of modern JRPG's as once again the classic formula was considered a cliche at this point in time and everyone is doing their own twist on it whether that be incorporating modern Anime style into it or elements of other genres.
You haven't played it: Anything that could have possibly been left is phased out by this.
Kent
Member
This is a good suggestion for anyone looking for shorter stories to play through. The longest and most involved scenarios go upwards of the 15-18 hour mark, whereas the shortest can be as low as 3, depending on things like luck and understanding of the game's very different (and sometimes obtuse) systems. This remains one of my favorites due to myriad factors.
Individual scenarios are their own stories, but all of them take place in the same world and cross-over each other all the time (to the point where it's entirely possible to recruit a significant amount of the main characters of other scenarios when you're going through a different one). Makes it really interesting to see the game's world from different perspectives.
I would say the Battle Network series might be an edge-case here. They're not strictly turn-based, since combat happens in real-time (though a time meter does fill up and allow you to select what moves you can take into real-time combat until your next meter fills up). Additionally, I think my playthroughs of individual entries in the series were on average about 25 hours each (though I have a tendency to take my time and explore, especially in RPGs).
So while I highly recommend the series (except for MMBN4...) I'm not entirely sure I'd say it fits directly into what OP is looking for.